


A Simple Valentine's Date

by EnjoninePride



Category: Groundhog Day - Minchin/Rubin
Genre: Dating, F/M, Love, Post-Loop, Valentine's Day, date, just a simple story, movies - Freeform, nothing too fancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 04:10:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13674000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnjoninePride/pseuds/EnjoninePride
Summary: Phil and Rita share a date on Valentine's Day





	A Simple Valentine's Date

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Phil/Rita fanfiction and I hope that I did them justice in this story. This takes place post-loop.

“And that’s good weather!” Phil Connors finished his forecast for Channel 5 Pittsburg.  
    “Nice job, Phil! That was pretty good!” Rita Hanson said as she walked over to him from behind the scenes.  
    Rita, despite having some small bags under her eyes from staying up late last night getting things ready for tonight’s broadcast, looked quite lovely in her light lilac purple blouse and dark blue jeans. Her hair was pulled up into ponytail with strands of frizz falling in front of her face.   
    Out of all the women Phil ever met (and “dated”), Rita Hanson seemed to be the only one who changed him. What a woman Rita was. Stubborn yet sweet, very intelligent and a phenomenal producer. She was the only woman that truly mattered to him. She helped him out of the loop and he couldn’t be more grateful. After all those days (or years) in that loop on the 2nd of February, he had grown to love and appreciate her. In return, on the 3rd of February, she became his...sort of. The two of them began a relationship, but built it up slowly, taking their time. They could take all the time in the world in Phil’s mind. All he wanted was to make her happy.    
    Phil raised his eyebrows at her. “Just good? Not great? “  
    Rita folded her arms over her chest and grinned.  
    “Yes, just good. What do you want? A medal?”  
    “No, I just thought this was a great broadcast!” Phil exclaimed.  
    “The broadcast you did in Punxsutawney on Groundhog Day was a great one.” Rita told him.  
    “Oh! You are comparing that broadcast with everyone I do? Looks like you’re going to be disappointed!”  
    “I’m use to it.” Rita teased.  
    As the two of them chatted, Larry rushed past, carrying a duffle bag in one hand and his keys in the other.  
    “Bye, Phil! Bye, Rita! Happy Valentine’s Day!” Larry exclaimed.  
    Phil and Rita looked over to him.  
    “Bye, Larry! Hey! What are you up to tonight?” Rita asked.  
    Larry stopped for a moment to catch his breath. “I’m meeting Nancy! She drove here all the way from Punxsutawney and she will be staying with me for about two weeks. Tonight, I’m taking her to a nice restaurant for Valentine’s Day.”  
“Nice, Lar! Go get her, man!” Phil commented.  
Larry blushed. “Thanks, Phil. Are you doing anything for Valentine’s Day?...”  
Before Phil could answer, Larry looked down at his wrist watch and cursed.  
“I’m late! I’ve got to go! See you two tomorrow!” and rushed out of the studio.  
“I’m happy for him.” Rita said after Larry left. “Him and Nancy.”   
“Yeah.” Phil agreed.   
    Rita smiled at him. “Any plans for tonight?”  
    Phil crossed his arms over his chest.  
    “Yeah! I was thinking you and I could pick up some dinner and head back to my place and maybe watch some sappy rom-com, or is that too informal?”  
    “No, that’s great! I mean, it’s pretty late for the two of us to go home, change, meetup, and...well you get the idea.” Rita explained. “And besides, it’s the thought that counts.”  
    “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Phil urged excitedly.  
    “Okay! I’m going! I’m going!” Rita laughed and the two of them headed out of the studio.

 

    “This is probably the best pizza in all of Pittsburg!” Rita told Phil as the two of them sat on his couch, paper plates with pepperoni pizza in hand.  
    “It’s okay at best.” Phil commented as he took another bite.  
    “Okay? You chose the place!” Rita exclaimed.  
    “Maybe not every choice I make is necessarily a good one, have you thought of that?”  
    Rita placed the plate down and wiped her hands with a paper napkin.  
    “Oh, that’s not true and you know it!”  
    Phil raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure about that?”  
    “Oh, screw you, Phil Connors! I’m just trying to be nice!” Rita teased.  
    “Hey! I’m just asking! I didn’t expect you to get defensive!” Phil chuckled.  
    Rita faux punched him in the arm. “I am not defensive!”  
“Oh really?”   
Phil watched as Rita smiled, noticing the little crease in her nose which he loved.   
That time he spent in the loop back in Punxsutawney made him appreciate the little moments in life, especially this one. His first Valentine’s Day with an actual committed relationship. Not like before the loop where all his Valentine’s Days were spent with him getting laid with a young woman he met in a bar somewhere.  
Rita wasn’t like any of those women. She was smarter than that. She knew when a line was being crossed and Phil respected that. Rita was a woman who valued love, not one who just threw it aside. She wanted commitment and that’s what Phil intended to give her. A slow, steady, and strong commitment. It may be a lot of work, but he was willing to put the effort in.  
“And besides, the pizza back at the diner in Punx was probably the best.” Phil commented.  
“You know, I never tried it over there!” Rita told him.  
“Maybe you and I could take a drive back there and try some!”  
Rita raised her eyebrows at him. “You want us to drive about seventy-nine miles just to get a pizza?”  
“Is that too much?” Phil asked.  
Rita laughed. “No! I’m down! Just not tonight…”  
“Of course not tonight! Maybe sometime next week?”  
“Why not? I mean I wouldn’t mind going back to that sweet town. I made a lot of great memories over there.” Rita explained.  
“Like what?” Phil questioned.  
“The Groundhog dinner where I payed $379.88 for a dance with you, not to mention I received a kiss…”  
“Hey! You kissed me!”  
“I know that!” Rita teased.  
Phil gave her a twinkling smile, and Rita gave one in return. He took her hand into his and carrassed the back of it.  
“You know, if I had one night to relive, I would choose that night.” Rita told him.  
“Me too...although, I don’t really like the idea of reliving the same day over and over because….” Phil started but stopped when Rita gave him her famous what-the-hell-are-you-babbling-about look (he saw that a lot during his time in the loop).  
“...it’s a long story…”  
Rita grinned at him. “If you say so!”  
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, just gazing at one another until Phil asked, “So, my lovely producer! Would you care for some ice cream?”   
“Yeah! That’d be great!” she responded.  
Phil got up from the couch and took the plates over to the trash can under his sink.  
“You can go onto the Roku hooked up to my TV and pick a movie through Amazon, if you want.” he told her as he opened the freezer door.  
Rita took the Roku remote and turned on the TV. She clicked on the Amazon channel and began flipping through films.  
“Is Rocky Road okay for you?” Phil asked as he pulled out a 1.5 quart jar of ice cream from the freezer.  
“Works for me!” she announced.  
Phil pulled out two bowls and spoons from the drawer and began scooping out the ice cream and plopping it in the dishes.  
As Rita continued to flip she stopped and laughed. “Hey, Phil! Do you want to watch The Sands of Iwo Jima with John Wayne?”  
“What?” Phil asked in puzzlement.  
“It says here! Look! Amazon recommends for Valentine's Day, The Sands of Iwo Jima! I’m not kidding!” Rita laughed.  
Phil brought the dishes over to her and slowly sat down as he read the TV screen.  
“Huh! Would you look at that! Well, you have to admit...The Duke is pretty sexy.”  
Rita took one of the bowls into her hands. “You’re not wrong! He is quite the turn on.”  
Phil chuckled and took the Roku remote. He flipped through the movie titles as Rita ate her treat.  
“Let’s see...When Harry Met Sally...Pride and Prejudice...Pretty Woman...Titanic…is there any chance you want to watch a dick flick?” Phil asked.  
“Oh! Wait!  How about 50 First Dates?” Rita recommended, pointing at the movie title that was on the screen.  
Phil shrugged. “Why not?” he asked and clicked the film.  
Rita pulled out a blanket from the back of the couch and threw it over their legs. She snuggled up to Phil’s arm, trying to get comfy. The two of them held their ice cream dishes and proceed to eat their treat.  
“You know, I can never imagine someone having to make someone fall in love with you every single day and that person doesn’t remember anything from the previous day. I mean...I guess it’s good if you screw up somewhere in the date, but that must be a tough thing to do!” Rita commented.  
    “Oh you have no idea.” Phil breathed.

 

The half-eaten ice creams were now milky soup in the bowls. The blanket that covered them both was now covering Rita. Not even half an hour into the movie and she fell asleep, her head laying on Phil’s shoulder. The weight of her body crushed his side but he didn’t mind. She was with him and that was all that mattered.   
It was a simple night. Nothing fancy, yet it was quite romantic.  
With what he could move, he wrapper one arm around Rita and pulled her in close to him. Phil shifted his head slightly and kissed the top of her messy head.  
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Rita.” he whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
